The Darkest Hour
by CloudVII7
Summary: Chloe Price is left in darkness after the loss of her best friend Max Caufeild. Chloe trying to pick up the pieces ends up falling for the Mysterious and Alluring Rachel Amber. Little does she know that her love and friendship will be tested.


It all started the day that we moved away. Leaving my best friend Chloe sitting there crying..sobbing with her dark hateful words following me all the way to seattle. I should have hated her too for reacting this way. For the way she didn't understand that i had to leave. Im was 13 i wanted to scream at her. I had no choice. My parents were making me. But the words caught in my throat. All that came out of my mouth were pitiful sobs that i choked back as the girl that i've known since before i could walk looked at me with something akin to hatred. I have never seen that look on her face before. Those blue eyes that i was so familiar with that used to shine with light and happiness now only shown with tears and anger. The girl i loved before i even knew what love was looked at me with such distaste i could not move. I was numb inside. Chloe i had said i'm so sorry. I said it with such I had broken on those last words it was a wonder she even heard me but she still looked at me with those accusing eyes. "My dad has just died and your leaving" she spits at me, her blonde hair shining in the sun in such a way she seemed like a angel passing judgment on my poor soul. Tears streamed down my face in what felt like rivers matched only by hers. My brown eyes were blurred but her face was still so clear that i saw her even in my dreams that same way. Angry and vengeful like i was someone or something that had caused her pain. Just get out she had screamed at me in a voice so loud and broken that it cracked. I saw her pain as i tried to hug her one last time but she shoved me back so hard i landed on my ass looking up at her. Go away max she screamed again as she turned away falling to her knees grabbing her hair as if to rip it out at the roots. I hope you die! She screamed as i finally found the strength to stand and slowly walk away from the girl that defined me as me..now a broken shape on the ground curled up and sobbing so hard that i heard her pain all the way to seattle. That was 5 years ago. She has probably forgotten all about me by now. Years have passed and their has not been a single day where i don't think about her. Where i don't pick up that phone and dial her number. Only to stare at it with tears in my eyes knowing i had left her. And knowing that not a single thing i would or could say can make that better. So i close the phone crying softly in my room wishing i was more like her. More like my Chloe. She would have figured out a way. This is how i knew she did not want to see me. If there is a single thing that defines Chloe its tenacious. When she sets her sights on something only God in his almighty heaven will stop her. This is how i know that she hated me. i still sometimes sob, im sorry Che..i still love you. But things are different now that i'm 18. Im finally going back to Arcadia bay. I'm going to blackwell academy on scholarship.

At least until my world was shattered is a million mind numbing pieces. The day i was told my parents were killed in a head on collision. The other driver was drinking of course and they walked away. My loving beautiful parents didn't. My dear and darling mother and father were killed on impact. Im was so shattered and broken that i could hardly comprehend the following days. I still can't imagine a single day where i thought i was going to be alright but then i realized that i have to move on.

Im currently staying with Jake and his family. They are kind and loving people that took me in due to knowing my father since they were barely out of diapers. Sometimes i hate him for offering my father this job out in this large city that got him killed. But gratefully they have adopted me until im of age. But my heart aches and the sadness overtakes me until i can't feel anything but that numbing pain but i endure and i will stay strong. Until i see Chloe again.

One year ago

" Chloe!" The girl with the auburn hair cried out as she laughed. Her hazel eyes shining as she snorted at her girlfriend. Your such a dork. Her beautiful face was lit upon the pale glow of the streetlights, her blue feathered earring still glossy and shining. oh god what did i do now the blunette snorted to herself tossing her unruly hair back. She was only just convinced to do it in a bob and Chloe Price was just trying to get used to not having hair. Rachel Ambers lithe form was clad in tight jeans and a flannel with a ripped sleeve over a tank top. Her only accessory was a blue feathered earing that she wore almost constantly. Rachel's sometimes green sometimes red but mostly brown eyes blazed in the dim light echoing love and trust that chloe felt echoed through her very soul. Max may have left her but she knew that she had to move on at some point and she had gone through too many hard times and been too much of a punk to warrant someone as kind as rachel. Not to say Rachel didn't have her faults. She was impulsive possessive and could be a downright selfish and a bitch at times. The thing was that rachel had more love and light in her than anyone Chloe knew and that only made her love the petite girl even more. Im not perfect Chloe had mused to herself and the fact this beautiful girl had even wasted the time to look past everything bad about me i am blessed. I mean i'm not even close to being the looker she is. I myself standing at almost 6 ft tall and ungodly thin but i still had all the appropriate curves and my breasts weren't exactly non existent. My face is reasonably attractive i like to think and my eyes a cold blue had been lit up as of late with this girl. Hey she said striding over to me in that light dancers walk that i could never emulate. Huh i said just trying to pull myself back into the present. Dont worry about those guys she whispered in my ear as she pulled me close tilting her neck up to reach my cheek. Kissing me gently sent all kinds of emotions flooding through me. After all we have been through i still hold a secret that could destroy her But I love her enough to never want her to go through any more pain than she has already been through. I'm not worried i said trying to laugh off my recent state, we had run into a few guys one disgustingly fat guy who was rubbing up on my girl. There is no way i would allow that so i stepped in. that led to one of my infamous fights that i nearly always win because i never play fair. Martial arts from a young age coupled with my slim but strong form made me fast and i moved like a viper. One kick to the balls and a elbow to the face will usually end any confrontation that i have come across. Until a couple of his buddies came to his rescue and rachel and i beat feet out of the bar. Thank god frank the local friendly drug dealer ran interference for us. Rachel blew him a kiss and i of course gave them the middle finger on the way out. I pulled myself out of the reminiscing to see my girlfriend looking up at me with a pouty expression. Chloe price have you heard a word i've been saying? I smiled sheepishly and shook my head. Rachel lightly hit me on the arm as punishment which i easily caught and swung her into my arms kissing her full on the lips. She moaned softly as i inhaled her scent. Something indescribable with hints of strawberry. Not everyone would like it but i loved it. It was my Rachel Amber and i was never letting her go. Rachel wrapped her arms around my waist pulling my head down a little more as she breathed me in. As she made me hers. I love you she whispered our nose's almost touching. As i love you i whispered back. Her beauty was so astounding i felt tears well into my eyes. Why are you crying silly she murmured as she gently wiped my tears away. Just you babe i said trying not act like a big baby crying at every little thing. I do have a reputation to uphold. Rachel pulled me close as she whispered into my chest, "im yours Chloe price and ill hella follow you anywhere" I smiled and gently kissed the top of her head feeling my tears flowing down my cheeks. She pulled away looking up at me and started to say something before screaming. I felt a deep crippling pain in my head and everything went dark.

It's so dark chloe thought. Her battered and bruised body was barely illuminated in the dark and dusty basement where she was being held captive. She moved experimentally only to find her tall frame was tied to chair. What the fuck chloe let out a small curse as she strained hard against the ropes that held her but to no avail. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she realized there was nothing that she could do. Chloe price was trapped in a place god knows were being held captive by people that wanted god knows what. But chloe was tough. She had been in her fair share of scapes and fights during the years of max's departure and her silence in the time after. Chloe was still heartbroken and this pain radiated through her whenever Max had come unbidden into her mind. Max was supposed to be her angel and she had thrown her away. Broken her wings and all and had sent her spiraling into hell. Chloe knew that any pain Max that suffered if and when she thought of chloe was her fault. But this isn't the time for that Chloe muttered. Her now blue hair cut close to her head in a bob shimmered in the fading light as she twisted in her seat trying to discern exactly where she was. All she could see was a workbench with these menacing looking tools scattered across red stained surface. Oh god chloe felt a bead of sweat drip down the face as she recognized what the red stains were. Blood. Her heart leapt into her throat as she heard footsteps on the stairs. Her pulse grew faster as the figured was slowly illuminated into a man in his early 30's maybe early 40's. His beard and chubby figure did not allow her a clear distinction. It's that fucking guy from the bar! Jesus what the fuck is going on here she thought. The man grinned at her with misshapen teeth. His voice came out in a low growl as he walked over to chloe looking her up and down. "I know he said he got a couple of cuties but he didn't say how cute" his grin widened as chloe's eyes grew wider. Fear, terror, run away, was the only thoughts chloe had when she beheld that smile. Then anger. Anger over took her as the man rubbed his hand down her small chest feeling her nipples through her shirt. " Don't fucking touch me" Chloe screamed again tugging at the ropes holding her. "My parents will know when i'm not home and the police will bust your ass!" Chloe knew this was a weak threat but she was preoccupied. Rachel..where is Rachel? Chloe was with her at their usual hang out then decided to walk to her place knowing full well that if either of them drove they risked a ticket or worst. Then it all came back to her in a rush as she smelled the man as he leaned close to her gently licking her neck as chloe squirmed in her chair. That stinking putrid smell of a man who hadn't showered in what seems like a long time. Rachel was there chloe thought as everything came back. She was screaming. Rachel had a look of terror that she had never seen before. Chloe saw rachel's face clearly in her mind, scared as she was dragged away with a cloth over her mouth. Then all went black. "The boss will love you i think" the man said putting his disgusting fingers on her cheek ripping Chloe out of her memories. Hold it together Chloe you gotta be strong was the mantra that she kept saying in her head. No matter what.

Then her world disappeared into nothing but terror and despair as the basement door was kicked open. In came another man dragging a screaming girl behind him by her hair. The girls blue feather earring clearly visible through her blooded and dirty hair. "Rachel!" Chloe screamed as she saw her face. Rachel who could clearly have modeled if not for her petite frame was nearly unrecognizable. Her face was a mass of blood and bruises blood dripping down from fresh cuts that seemed to be methodically etched into her face. This girl was no long Rachel Amber the jewel of blackwell high. This girl was beaten within a inch of her life and what looked like they were hard pressed to stop there. This was all that was left of Chloe's beautiful girlfriend. "Rachel!" Chloe kept screaming "Rachel!" The girl was thrown unceremoniously to the floor landing with a thud. Tears dripped down the face of the girl i loved as she cried seeing me tied to this fucking chair. "Chloe.." she moaned as she tried to speak out of what looked like a broken jaw. I felt a fire inside me that i had never felt before. If there was one thing i was going to do in this goddamn life, i was going to save the girl i loved. No matter the cost. Rachel tried to say something more but a hard kick silenced her. The fat man closest to chloe looked at the smaller but intimidating man. "What are we gonna do about this one Drake?" The smaller man was muscled and wearing a pair of faded blue jeans and a tank top sporting dark hair cut close to the scalp. "Damnit"the smaller man muttered. Then with a strike as quick as lightning rocked the bigger mans jaw with a hard slap that seemed to echo off the dusty and dimly lit walls. "Don't you ever fucking use my name in front of these girls! It's bad enough i had to come to this shithole just to make sure that you fucks aren't screwing up the bosses shipment." The bigger man slumped a little stuttering his apology. Drake waved him off with a hand. "We have to get this one ready for to go" Drake said with a sigh motioning to the moaning crying girl on the floor. He then he looked over at me with a look that sent pure terror rocketing through my body." Usually we don't take them this old" He said with that same look "but hey im sure he will buy them regardless." Chloe suddenly understood everything. Human trafficking was one of those things that you knew was going on somewhere in the world but not where you were. Not in arcadia bay. Jesus..we cant let this motherfucker win chloe thought this with absolute clarity but had no way out..she was stripped of her trusty knife and with that her gun that she had carried around never actually thinking they would need it. The bigger man interrupted her thoughts with a disgusting whimper. "Do you think boss that i could..maybe i could..with this one?" Chloe was repulsed and shocked into horror thinking that this man would have his way with her. Drake looked at the bigger man thinking for a second. Drake then let out a sigh "no but this other girl has already been used plenty." Chloe knew were this was going and was screaming before she could even form a coherent thought. She just knew that she had to get to Rachel. Or at least trying to get her to fucking move. "Rach!" "Come on you have to move! Get up baby!" Chloe could feel hot tears spill down her cheeks as she knew what was about to transpire and she could do nothing about it. The bigger man started panting as he walked over to the sobbing girl pulling the work bench over in between him and chloe. He then picked up the blonde throwing her face first over that disgusting table. Chloe could see Rachel's face through her tears, those beautiful beautiful eyes, those amazing hazel brown eyes that used to resonate love, joy and mischief were dead. " Chlo..?" Rachel barely murmured her name before the fat ugly man slammed her face off the table. "Rachel!" Chloe strained against the ropes screaming her name trying to will these fucking ropes loose or at least do something. Do anything at all "No god no please no dont do this. Take me. I can take it. Take me dammit! Rach!" Chloe cried as the man pulled Rachel's jeans down to her ankle. He then looked straight at chloe as he began. " NO" Chloe's cry was long and wailing as she witnessed the love of her life be violated and abused. She couldn't stop screaming. Rachel was crying hard long sobs and Chloe twisted hard against the ropes screaming crying not caring that her bonds were cutting away at her skin. Blood flowed freely as Chloe screamed all the more looking at Rachel's eyes as she just took the abuse. "Babe please stay with me. Rach look at me! Im so sorry.." Chloe could feel her tears streaming down her cheeks as she looked at the girl she loved being savaged by this animal. "I swear to god" Chloe screamed "i will kill you mother fuckers i promise you i will fucking kill you!" Chloe was swept into a fit of hopelessness and rage and sadness as the fat man finished. He panted as he stood behind her looking down with this dopy eyed expression on his repulsive face. Chloe was still shrieking Rachel's name as she was dragged away lifeless as a rag doll by the man in the tank top. That fat bastard just stood there zipping his pants back up looking at chloe long enough that it took everything chloe had not to rip her wrists to shreds to just have a chance of killing this man. Chloe's blue eyes were cold as interstellar space as she spoke. You will untie me now motherfucker or i swear to god i will get out and i will find you and make no mistake i will make you bleed. I will make you scream. And you will beg for death. Chloe's eyes did not waver from this man's own brown ones and a bead of sweat ran down the balding man's face. He looked unsteady and startled like he wasn't expecting this kind of resistance. Finally he swallowed walked over to stand right in from of the blunette. She still look at him without a ounce of fear, her emotions screaming her brain on fire, her soul on fire but still she was shivering. Cold had seeped into her bones and no matter what she did she couldn't silence the screaming of the girl she loved more than her own existence. I will kill this man chloe thought with any thought of her own safety. The man then moved in a blur as he struck her once across the face. Her head rocked back as a flash of pain radiated through her. Blood splattered to the floor as his strike opened a cut above her eye. His second blow caught her flush in the mouth and she felt blood automatically well in between her teeth. Christ did i bite my tongue she groaned in her head as blood dripped from her mouth onto her lap. Her once pristine white shirt now being stained with the crimson liquid. "Your coming with me bitch" she heard the man say in a haze. Through a rapidly swelling eye she saw him take out her trusty switchblade and move behind her. One swift cut through the ropes and she felt a blaze of white hot pain in her fingers as the knife sliced through her fingers splattering move blood on the ground. Chloe wasn't sure if he had cut off a finger as he yanked her by her hair to the floor. All she could think about was rachel. Is rachel ok..where is my angel? The disgusting man grabbed her roughly by the arm and started dragging her to the stairs. Chloe knew if there was a chance to get away this was it. With a blur of motion ignoring the pounding in her skull and the hot protesting of her fingers she struck. Her hand shot up thrusting hard at his throat. Her fist connected with a satisfying crunch as she crushed his windpipe. Her second strike connected with his groin hopefully barring him from barring any children. They would only be as fucked up as you chloe thought as the man fell to the floor while trying to simultaneously grab his throat and his aching groin at the same time. She moved without thought now. Adrenaline was kicking in and she felt as if she could shift mountains. And she would for Rachel. For Rachel she would do anything. The man laid there groaning as he tried to make it up the stairs trying desperately to yell, scream, make some sort of noise. Chloe looked at him coldly as he struggled. Rachel with her dead eyes and her cries of anguish and agony echoed through her head drowning out the pain Chloe felt. With two quick strides she swiftly stomped on his knee eliciting a sharp yelp of pain then finally screams as she broke his leg. Chloe then picked up the knife that was dropped. A knife that had served her through all her fights and all the bad times. A knife that she had nearly taken her own life with until rachel saved her from her own oblivion. She knelt over the writhing man quickly jamming the knife through his opposite leg and twisted. The man screamed again. Chloe wasn't satiated by his screams. She needed more. She needed him to feel even a fraction of the pain that Rachel had gone through. The thoughts of her Rachel being raped came unbidden into her mind and Chloe with a snarl pulled the knife out and with one quick motion stabbed him through the eye. Blood spurted out of his now mangled face, splattering against her cheek. "It's not enough" she growled. "You haven't suffered enough, have you you motherfucker!" She was screaming this last part as stabbed him the the stomach. Again and again she stabbed until his gray intestines slithered past her hand and he stopped screaming. She came to then. Looking at the lump of meat in front of her blood coating her clothes, her face, her hair. Chloe couldn't take it and vomited noisily off to the side. She wiped her mouth again looking at the grotesque shape that was called a man. No not a man chloe thought. A fucking monster. And who am i..tears dripped down her face as she slowly rose rummaging through his pockets and coming up with car keys and 300 dollars. My gun, where is my gun was a thought she had but she quickly dismissed it. I have to get out of here was her only drive. I have to find rachel. Chloe stumbled up the steep stairs smelling pain and agony in the air as if was a physical punch to her body. She knew Rachel wasn't here anymore and she wouldn't be able to rest until she found her. Chloe pushed open the door at the stairs cautiously looking into a decrepit kitchen. Rotting meat and other disgusting vapors hit her nose and she moved quickly to cover her face choking back bile. What the fuck is this place? She slowly walked through the kitchen taking care to not make any noise in case there were any of those bastards still around. Only silence greeted her as she peeked around the corner into the living room. Just a lone couch and a coffee table stood unused covered in dust. Beer bottles littered the floor with cigarette burns adorning the couch. The front door stood before her as if to welcome her. Safety seemed to call to her. Move chloe she screamed in her head as she burst into motion sprinting to the door and opening it to find the brisk cold night air hit her like a wall. She remembered then she was only wearing her tank top and silently cursed to herself wishing she had worn something with long sleeves. But the thought that maybe rachel was still here and still alive on the premises drove her forward. Chloe gripped her knife hard making her way down rotted steps. There was nothing around that she could see. The house was a loner surrounded by what looked like trees. A dirt path led out of the circular clearing surrounded by trees and within a few minutes chloe knew she was the only one left. A rusted red chevy nova was parked in front of the house which looking back at it could have been something out of a fairytale. Chloe walked up to it examining the interior hoping against hope that this motherfuckers keys belonged to this hunk of shit. Thoughts of her beloved angel consumed her for a time as she realized she was out of that hellhole and safe while the person that meant more to her than her own life could possible be dead. Or wishing she was dead. " i will find you babe" Chloe murmured as she slowly opened the door to the car and getting in. the keys were legion but she eventually figured out which it was to start the hunk of shit. The engine started up with a roar so loud that Chloe nearly jumped out of her skin. But without a second thought she shifted gears and was off down the dirt road with the moon shining down on her. Promising her vengeance the moon seemed to agree lighting her way as she set off to find her love. I will find you Rachel Chloe vowed eyes still shining with tears as she drove in the dark.


End file.
